Occupation: Farmer of the farm that is owned by powerful feudal lords.
Social Class: Third Estate
Financial situation: Under the poverty, under the total control of feudal lords. All of the family is in the same situation and they are starving to death.
Appearance: Skinny, dresses freely, tough skin, short, and looks mature. Brown hair and blue eyes.
Habitual locations: (where are you found most of the time?) A farm near Versailles. There is a little house right next to the farm.
Daily routine: (typical day for you)
- From his house with his father he goes to farm and collect wheat. - Afternoon, he brings his collected wheat and grape to the lord's mill. - After giving goods to the lord he goes back with his father to his family and eat whatever it's left.
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Very generous, and sweet minded. He is also a hard worker and always tries hard to earn money so that the family can buy its own farm. He never really gets mad. He is optimistic and say that there is still hope.
Past/individual-family history: His mother passed away when he was two. He has one younger sister who is only 11 years old. His younger sister stays in house until he and his father brings food to home.
Family: (spouse? siblings?...) Mother = Adele Rousseau, Father = Alexis Rousseau , Sister = Bernard Rousseau
Social relations with your own and other classes (people you deal with or know about in the class, AND your opinions and feelings about them): He has friend called Victor who is also a farmer but his family owns their farm. They are more likely to be second estate. However they get along very well. Even when Victor is not that financially supported he sometimes brings food for Guillaume.
Religion: None
Education: He did not get any education.
Languages you speak:French
Main privileges and/or hardships:
- Privileges = He lives very happily even he is under poverty. The view is very good and the air is very fresh. They can also get fresh vegetables from their farm. - Hardships = Lord takes most of their income and they get leftovers. They are each they starving to death.
Portrait: (find one online and paste it in)
Journal Entry #1
July 14th, 1789
Well, first of all, I am not comfortable writing this journal,because I am not really good at writing; however I am here to witness one of the greatest even that happened in France. According to my dad, the economy of France got horrible since 1780. Then the government or Louis XIV decided to increase our tax! Seriously, for people in third estate like us, we do not even have money or food to support ourself. Just in few years, the price of the bread was doubled. What will our family do without breads?
As a French person, not only myself but also everyone else was upset and up for the rebellion. But, what could I do? I was twenty years old that is short and powerless. Therefore, I thought today will also be boring as normal. I woke up and walked out to our farm with my dad which only took 5 minutes. Even when collecting wheat is something that I did for my lifetime, it is hard every time I do it. After about half of the day of just collecting crops, we divided crops we can use and crops we have to give it to the lord. We could only get ten to twenty percent of today's profit. Then we were heading back to our house.
Somehow that day, I felt like going outside and buy some foods for my family. Therefore, I told my dad and went out side. Then I encountered this multitude of people. I asked this young pretty lady called Adele Harrietteand She told me that this is the mob who will be attacking Bastille, a Paris prison. Then when I looked at Bastille, there was a flag of truce. I remembered how my dad told me about rumors that Louis will use military force to dismiss the National Assembly and foreign troops are coming to Paris to massacre French citizen. That gave me a wake up call on how serious the situation of France is. Then suddenly, the entire mob started to storm to the Bastille. I was forcefully marching with the mob to Bastille. It truly was a frustrating and scary moment. I believed that this was the end of my life. The fight was frightful. People of Paris was fiercely fighting with the guards of Bastille. Later, I heard it let to deaths of four guards. Then I saw Adele injured and lying on the floor. Even though I did not know her well, I was still mesmerized on her beautiful appearance. I can still remember her face. Anyways, I was like a hero. I grabbed her and went out to a safe place. I could not bring her to my house since my house was pretty far away. Luckily her house was very close. She told me to go back to Bastille, however her safety was more important. I safely brought her to her house; however I was sure that I could not see her again. There were her children in her house. Well, I did get kind of depressed. Today, I am thinking to go back to Bastille and see what has happened, or maybe not. I will figure it out. Now, I need to go to sleep. I need to collect wheats for twelve hours tomorrow. Bye.
Journal Entry #2
January 21, 1793
Indeed, I have witnessed a milestone in French history. Something that all of us waited for: The Execution of Louis XVI. Many changes have happened during last few years. National Assembly composed of Third Estate has been created and people were once again feeling safe. However, Louis XVI, being selfish, tried to abandon France and leave to other countries. Many nobles did that including our noble.
Our family also got financially improved. As our noble left Paris, the farm naturally became ours. All of the wheats and goods were no more taken away! I was so happy to see my sister's smile again.
So back to the topic, today seemed to be a peaceful day and my dad asked me to go to the store to buy some tools for farming. There was one shop we used that was ran by Gerard Depardieu. When I arrived there, he was closing the shop and I was wondering why he was closing the shop since it was not a closing time yet. He told me that there was an execution of Louis XVI. It may sound very crucial but, I was simply thrilled. I wanted to bring my dad to the execution; however I did not have enough time. In Place de la Revolution, there were so many people that I needed to climb up the tree to see the execution. Luis XVI was calm. He calmly went up the guillotine waiting for his destiny. Before the execution, Louis XVI gave a short speech; however I could not hear anything because of the people's booing. After few seconds, the canon was fired, announcing the death of Louis XVI. I will not specifically describe how he died but executioner was holding his bloody head.
There was a party. Everyone was out on the street drinking and talking. In our house, we also had a party. I also brought my friend, Victor, to celebrate being one step toward freedom of France. Today is an unforgettable day. It is the day when Louis XVI payed all of the perpetual things he have done to Paris and the people. He was the first victim of Reign of Terror. But mostly, we just did not like him.
Journal Entry #3
October 1795
It has been two years since Louis XVI died. However problems were not all resolved. There were still threats inside France and outside of the France. It was about two years ago right after Louis XVI was executed when I made the decision that totally changed my life. I wanted to be in an army. Our family was somewhat financially stable and now I wanted to devote myself to the country.
I was appointed as a gunner. I started from the bottom, learning the basics of how to reload and aim the gun. Since I was a farmer for almost last two decades, it was so challenging for first few months. I made a new friend called Edgar Guillemette. He was about my age and we got along very quickly. He was very cordial and we shared various similarities. For example, he was a gunner like me but a better one. He was also very tall and strong since he was construction walker. When he stands next to me, I felt unbeatable.
After about few months of training, it was a honor when we heard that we would be defending delegates under the instructions of Napoleon Bonaparte. I was first concerned about our leader since he was young and short like me. Suddenly, multitude of royalist rebels stormed on National Convention. Napoleon with a calm and loud voice commanded us to fire. My hand was shaking and sweat was pouring out of my head. I was so nervous that my mind was literally blank. Then sound of shooting and cannonade woke me up. It was not a practice anymore. I needed to protect these delegates. With a fear of possibility of dying, I was shooting and shooting. Within a minute, rebels were in panic and running away. I was so proud of myself. For the first time of my life, I felt like I have done something good for my country.
Later that day, government official summoned us to compliment us on today's accomplishment. On the street, they were hailing us; however they did not really care about the gunners. They mostly hailed Napoleon and he was called the hero of the hour and the savior of the French republic. I really did not mind because it is not about how other people recognize you but it's about myself accomplishing something that I feel proud about.
I went back to my house and my father just silently hugged me hard and said one word: Welcome Back. With a warm tear out from my eyes, there were various feelings going through my mind.
People will be calling these period a revolution. Indeed, it was a revolutionary time. Not only to the France but also to our family. Honestly, because of the droughts, there were literally no crops to harvest. But, we still needed to give goods to our noble. After the revolution, we got to own land and did not need to hand off most of our wheats to somebody else. It is the time for the France to step up.
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Occupation: Farmer of the farm that is owned by powerful feudal lords.
Social Class: Third Estate
Financial situation: Under the poverty, under the total control of feudal lords. All of the family is in the same situation and they are starving to death.
Appearance: Skinny, dresses freely, tough skin, short, and looks mature. Brown hair and blue eyes.
Location (Map of France, Map of Paris Must be in the Paris region.
Habitual locations: (where are you found most of the time?) A farm near Versailles. There is a little house right next to the farm.
Daily routine: (typical day for you)
- From his house with his father he goes to farm and collect wheat.- Afternoon, he brings his collected wheat and grape to the lord's mill.
- After giving goods to the lord he goes back with his father to his family and eat whatever it's left.
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Very generous, and sweet minded. He is also a hard worker and always tries hard to earn money so that the family can buy its own farm. He never really gets mad. He is optimistic and say that there is still hope.
Past/individual-family history: His mother passed away when he was two. He has one younger sister who is only 11 years old. His younger sister stays in house until he and his father brings food to home.
Family: (spouse? siblings?...) Mother = Adele Rousseau, Father = Alexis Rousseau , Sister = Bernard Rousseau
Social relations with your own and other classes (people you deal with or know about in the class, AND your opinions and feelings about them): He has friend called Victor who is also a farmer but his family owns their farm. They are more likely to be second estate. However they get along very well. Even when Victor is not that financially supported he sometimes brings food for Guillaume.
Religion: None
Education: He did not get any education.
Languages you speak: French
Main privileges and/or hardships:
- Privileges = He lives very happily even he is under poverty. The view is very good and the air is very fresh. They can also get fresh vegetables from their farm.- Hardships = Lord takes most of their income and they get leftovers. They are each they starving to death.
Portrait: (find one online and paste it in)
Journal Entry #1
July 14th, 1789
Well, first of all, I am not comfortable writing this journal,because I am not really good at writing; however I am here to witness one of the greatest even that happened in France. According to my dad, the economy of France got horrible since 1780. Then the government or Louis XIV decided to increase our tax! Seriously, for people in third estate like us, we do not even have money or food to support ourself. Just in few years, the price of the bread was doubled. What will our family do without breads?
As a French person, not only myself but also everyone else was upset and up for the rebellion. But, what could I do? I was twenty years old that is short and powerless. Therefore, I thought today will also be boring as normal. I woke up and walked out to our farm with my dad which only took 5 minutes. Even when collecting wheat is something that I did for my lifetime, it is hard every time I do it. After about half of the day of just collecting crops, we divided crops we can use and crops we have to give it to the lord. We could only get ten to twenty percent of today's profit. Then we were heading back to our house.
Somehow that day, I felt like going outside and buy some foods for my family. Therefore, I told my dad and went out side. Then I encountered this multitude of people. I asked this young pretty lady called Adele Harriette and She told me that this is the mob who will be attacking Bastille, a Paris prison. Then when I looked at Bastille, there was a flag of truce. I remembered how my dad told me about rumors that Louis will use military force to dismiss the National Assembly and foreign troops are coming to Paris to massacre French citizen. That gave me a wake up call on how serious the situation of France is. Then suddenly, the entire mob started to storm to the Bastille. I was forcefully marching with the mob to Bastille. It truly was a frustrating and scary moment. I believed that this was the end of my life. The fight was frightful. People of Paris was fiercely fighting with the guards of Bastille. Later, I heard it let to deaths of four guards.
Then I saw Adele injured and lying on the floor. Even though I did not know her well, I was still mesmerized on her beautiful appearance. I can still remember her face. Anyways, I was like a hero. I grabbed her and went out to a safe place. I could not bring her to my house since my house was pretty far away. Luckily her house was very close. She told me to go back to Bastille, however her safety was more important.
I safely brought her to her house; however I was sure that I could not see her again. There were her children in her house. Well, I did get kind of depressed. Today, I am thinking to go back to Bastille and see what has happened, or maybe not. I will figure it out. Now, I need to go to sleep. I need to collect wheats for twelve hours tomorrow. Bye.
Journal Entry #2
January 21, 1793
Indeed, I have witnessed a milestone in French history. Something that all of us waited for: The Execution of Louis XVI. Many changes have happened during last few years. National Assembly composed of Third Estate has been created and people were once again feeling safe. However, Louis XVI, being selfish, tried to abandon France and leave to other countries. Many nobles did that including our noble.
Our family also got financially improved. As our noble left Paris, the farm naturally became ours. All of the wheats and goods were no more taken away! I was so happy to see my sister's smile again.
So back to the topic, today seemed to be a peaceful day and my dad asked me to go to the store to buy some tools for farming. There was one shop we used that was ran by Gerard Depardieu. When I arrived there, he was closing the shop and I was wondering why he was closing the shop since it was not a closing time yet. He told me that there was an execution of Louis XVI. It may sound very crucial but, I was simply thrilled. I wanted to bring my dad to the execution; however I did not have enough time. In Place de la Revolution, there were so many people that I needed to climb up the tree to see the execution. Luis XVI was calm. He calmly went up the guillotine waiting for his destiny. Before the execution, Louis XVI gave a short speech; however I could not hear anything because of the people's booing. After few seconds, the canon was fired, announcing the death of Louis XVI. I will not specifically describe how he died but executioner was holding his bloody head.
There was a party. Everyone was out on the street drinking and talking. In our house, we also had a party. I also brought my friend, Victor, to celebrate being one step toward freedom of France. Today is an unforgettable day. It is the day when Louis XVI payed all of the perpetual things he have done to Paris and the people. He was the first victim of Reign of Terror. But mostly, we just did not like him.
Journal Entry #3
October 1795
It has been two years since Louis XVI died. However problems were not all resolved. There were still threats inside France and outside of the France. It was about two years ago right after Louis XVI was executed when I made the decision that totally changed my life. I wanted to be in an army. Our family was somewhat financially stable and now I wanted to devote myself to the country.
I was appointed as a gunner. I started from the bottom, learning the basics of how to reload and aim the gun. Since I was a farmer for almost last two decades, it was so challenging for first few months. I made a new friend called Edgar Guillemette. He was about my age and we got along very quickly. He was very cordial and we shared various similarities. For example, he was a gunner like me but a better one. He was also very tall and strong since he was construction walker. When he stands next to me, I felt unbeatable.
After about few months of training, it was a honor when we heard that we would be defending delegates under the instructions of Napoleon Bonaparte. I was first concerned about our leader since he was young and short like me. Suddenly, multitude of royalist rebels stormed on National Convention. Napoleon with a calm and loud voice commanded us to fire. My hand was shaking and sweat was pouring out of my head. I was so nervous that my mind was literally blank. Then sound of shooting and cannonade woke me up. It was not a practice anymore. I needed to protect these delegates. With a fear of possibility of dying, I was shooting and shooting. Within a minute, rebels were in panic and running away. I was so proud of myself. For the first time of my life, I felt like I have done something good for my country.
Later that day, government official summoned us to compliment us on today's accomplishment. On the street, they were hailing us; however they did not really care about the gunners. They mostly hailed Napoleon and he was called the hero of the hour and the savior of the French republic. I really did not mind because it is not about how other people recognize you but it's about myself accomplishing something that I feel proud about.
I went back to my house and my father just silently hugged me hard and said one word: Welcome Back. With a warm tear out from my eyes, there were various feelings going through my mind.
People will be calling these period a revolution. Indeed, it was a revolutionary time. Not only to the France but also to our family. Honestly, because of the droughts, there were literally no crops to harvest. But, we still needed to give goods to our noble. After the revolution, we got to own land and did not need to hand off most of our wheats to somebody else. It is the time for the France to step up.